Allison Woods Halloween Hobble 100

All geared up.  In the kitchen before we left

Preface

After dropping from the VM 150 at mile 67 in May, I asked my wife, Crystal,  if she would mind if I looked for a race in the area for the fall (we just moved to Charlotte, NC from MI).  When she gave the green light, I looked around on the inter webs for a race in the area.  I finally found one that was just over an hours drive from the house.  The Allison Woods Halloween Hobble (AWHH).  I was pretty hyped that it was so close.  This way, I could finish the race with my kids.

Since this was a Halloween themed event, costumes were encouraged.  In my pre-ultra days, I had run a 10k in a dress, wig, and the Miss America sash.  I wasn't about to run 100 miles in a dress or wig, so Crystal suggested a bikini top.  (She wanted me to wear the bottoms over my shorts, but I vetoed that idea.

Prelude

As we pulled into the race, I got super hyped.  There were not more than 18 cars.  This looked like a super low key event!  I was totally excited.
And Jon Savage was going to be here!  I admit to being a slight fan boy when it comes to Mr. Savage.

A Bit About the Race

The AWHH was run on a 4 mile loop.  It had a 6, 12, and 24 hour option in addition to the 100 mile.  I wasn't sure how I felt about 25 loops (I'm still not sure how I feel about it).  I had finished a couple 100 milers that consisted of 6 loops, and one that was 5 loops.
The main aid station was at the start/finish.  There was a small aid station about 2.75 miles on the loop.  They had water, some fruit, and the occasional Cliff bar.

I consider the trail to meet the barest requirements to be classified as a trail.  Not that that's a bad thing by any means.  I'm not terribly fond of single track, or technical trails.  This was neither of those.  The trail was ~10 ft wide.  There were a few rocky parts, and a few roots.  But the roots were well marked with orange blaze.  There were a couple of sandy stretches.  Not long, but enough to get into your shoes.

Drew's (the RD) description on Ultra Signup stated a bit over 300 ft of elevation gain per loop, for a total of over 9000 feet for the 100 mile.  My gps had a total elevation gain of 9209 feet, which was 368.36 feet per loop.

But the trail was perfect in my opinion.

You go into the woods for maybe .5 miles, then come out onto the 'fairway' for about .5 - .75 miles.  This was the worst part.  

The grass was so thick that it felt like running on a very deep shag carpet.  It really started to get to me after awhile.

After that, you go back into the woods for ~.5 miles, then come back out onto the fairway (but the grass wasn't thick on this side of it).  You run about .2 miles, go back into the woods, and finish the loop in the woods.
Here's a link from the actual race results that show the true loop splits.  Just click on my name.

Here's the Strava:

Strava only counts moving time (I know.  It's dumb.) So the overall time is incorrect, as are some of the mile splits.

First 2 Loops

I started the race with a woman running the 6 hour (Debbie?), a guy running the 24 hour (I named him Orange Shorts), and another gentleman running the 100M (Joel).

I'm pretty sure that Orange Shorts and Debbie(?) separated from Joel and I after the first loop.

Joel and I started chatting during loop two.  He was no stranger to the 100 mile distance, and it was an unspoken agreement that he and I would stick together until we didn't anymore.  

Very important that one run their own race, and not get caught up going too fast or too slow to accommodate someone else.

As we approached the start/finish after loop 2, I told Joel that I needed to address an issue with my left foot, and that I'd catch up with him sooner or later.

The sand had started to act like fine grit sandpaper in my left sock.  I asked the volunteers for some baby wipes, and set to the task of cleaning my foot.  

Since my right foot was fine, I only took care of the left one.  I grabbed a clean pair of socks from my race tub, cleaned my foot, applied some silicone lubricant, put the fresh sock on, retied my shoe, and I was on my way.

Miles 20 - 52

Joel had parked his car where the trail came out onto the fairway the second time (1.5 miles onto the loop).  I caught up with him there.

The next 30 miles we walked.  A lot.  I would say we walked 28 of those 32 miles.  No leisurely stroll, mind you.  We were still averaging ~15 min/mile.  We just walked a lot.

At some point, Joel's wife and two of his daughters showed up, so he (we) stopped to chat with them.  Joel changed his shoes at that point.

Joel stopped to change his shoes again at some point in the 40s (I think) because his foot was bothering him.  We got about 50 feet from his car when he realized that he had brought the wrong pair from home.  These were too small.  I made him go back to the car and change into the original pair that he was wearing.  

Wearing shoes that are too small is never a good idea.

At mile 52, we stopped again.  It was 9:58pm.  Joel had determined that it wasn't the shoes that were the issue, but his foot.  He feared he'd have to have an x-ray.  I remember saying, "I'm definitely not a doctor.  I'm just a dude whose run a lot of miles and had a lot of injuries.  Is it a sharp, stabbing pain?"  When he replied in the negative, I told him, "It's probably just a tendon issue then."

But his race was done.

I called Crystal and told her where I was at in the race, that Joel was done, but that I felt pretty good.  That was the last time that I felt pretty good.

On the display that the race timing company had setup just after one crossed the mat at the start/finish, I saw that Liz Bauer was here too.
Jon Savage and Liz Bauer?  Holy crap!  I've never been around such fame!

Math (Miles 52 - 100)

Of course math.  Joel and I had done it a bunch when we still had the ability to do so.  We had determined that even if we continued to walk at the pace we were maintaining, we would finish in the 27 hour mark.  

The thing is that time spent at aid stations is also factored into the overall pace.  We had spent some considerable time at the start/finish on an occasion or two, and some considerable time at his car on an occasion or two.

When I left on my 14th loop, I was trying to do the math in my head.  But my mind had already passed the point where that was possible.  30 hours - whatever time it was.  That was to get to the hours and minutes that I had left.  Convert that into minutes.  Divide that by the miles that I had left would give me the slowest I could go, in minutes/mile, to finish by the 30 hour cutoff.

I remember pulling into the start/finish at some point when it was dark and asking some what fervently for a calculator (might have been after mile 68, loop 17).  Drew (RD) came up and said, "What do you need?"  I had managed to determine how many minutes I had left until the cutoff, and told him to divide that number by however many miles I had left.  I think the number he gave me was 18.x.  I said thanks, topped off my water, then headed out onto the next loop.

As I was leaving, he asked me what the number that I gave him was.  I told him that it was the number of minutes I had left.  He asked me if I was doing the 24 hour.  I said, "No.  That's the number of minutes left until the 30 hour cutoff."

I just hustled the best I could.  I would power up the uphills, run the downhills until that momentum stopped, then power on until the next downhill.

Looking back at the Strava, it's easy to see the toll that the night took on me.  It sure felt like I was moving quicker than that.

The next thing that I remember clearly is pulling into the start/finish again and asking for a calculator.  This was when I had 5 loops (20 miles) left.  I told the young lady that obliged my request to divide 440 (number of minutes left until the cutoff) by 20.  I then immediately said, "Never mind.  It's 22."  This made me feel quite a bit better.  I knew that if I just kept on keeping on as I would, I would be fine.

The sun rose on loop 5.  That's always the best feeling/site in a 100 miler.

I texted Crystal after that loop with the message "4 loops.  A bit over 5 hours".  The plan was for me to call her when I had 2 loops left, so that she would have time to get the kids ready, and drive out to the finish.

I called her at 10:19, told her I had 2 - 2.5 hours left.  I wouldn't be able to take my phone with me since it was raining, but told her where to park so that I could just holler when I came out of the woods on the last loop.

Thank God.  The last loop.  Of course, it started raining in earnest on this loop.  It doesn't rain all summer in NC, and now it's pouring.

I came out of the woods and saw Crystal at the back of her car (she was changing the baby's diaper).  I yelled,

"SINIARSKIS!  ASSEMBLE!"

Our two oldest came running over, and Crystal came over holding Imogen (our youngest).  I grabbed Imogen, and ran to the finish.  Drew's dad managed to snap a couple photos of us.

Postlude

Yeah, I'm not sure how I feel about 25 loops.  I am sure that I love this event.  Drew is awesome.  The volunteers were awesome.  The low key feel of it was awesome.  

I told Drew that I would be back next year to volunteer.  

And I most certainly will.

Lessons Learned

I learned three things from this event.

1. Don't do a lot of walking too soon.  You may find yourself pressed for time when you're not able to make it up
2. Do some terrain specific training.  I hadn't run on a trail in exactly one year, when I finished IT in 2018.  Thank God that this trail was so forgiving.  My body hasn't felt this beat up in many years, and I have to believe that's because I've been running on roads for a year.
3. I feel that I'm finally really in-tune with my body. 
   When liquid was sloshing in my stomach, I ate something salty and switched to a drink with electrolytes.
   When I was still thirsty after drinking, I abstained from the salt and switched to drinking water.
4. Never match wits with a Sicilian when death is on the line. (inside joke for those that get it)

 Training

I also haven't taken more than one week off of running in well over a year.  Since I started training for IT 2018 in July of that year.

When making my Google sheet to track my training for AWHH, I had erred.  I cut myself short by four weeks of my usual 15 week training regime.

Because I never really fell out of shape over the past year, I figured I was ok.

This was my first time running in anything other than a MI summer.  Summer down here in Charlotte, NC is hot.  Real hot.

And humid.

Super, ultra, mega, unforgivingly humid.

I decided that this training was going to be an exercise in finding out how little I could do and still finish.  I'm comfortable with the results.  Link to the full sheet here

I missed one whole week due to an achilles tendon issue.  My longest run was 27.1 miles.  I didn't really taper at all, just took the week leading up to the race completely off.

But I felt so terrific after that last run.  I wasn't worn out from the training.  It was great.
I might just try this again in the future.